Socioeconomic Status and Health: Focusing on Co-Morbidity of Self Rated Health and Psychological Well-Being

Despite the well-documented associations between social and economic positions and diverse health conditions, the necessity and urgency of exploring the social and economic consequences of an array of health dimensions together have been proposed as a critical area of research to fully appreciate socioeconomic-health inequalities. The overall objective of the present study is to estimate the variance and covariation of two dimensions of health, i.e., self-rated health and psychological well-being, simultaneously, with specific attention to the social and economic influences, utilizing the multivariate response model. We use the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. Primary results indicate that variance in both self-rated health and psychological distress becomes attenuated with the adjustment of social and economic status, although variation in each outcome remains unexplained to some substantial degree. In addition, there is a strong and positive relationship between these two health outcomes in that individuals who are unhealthy tend also to have poor psychological resources (correlation = .34) and the substantial portion of co-morbidity between health conditions is attributable to the social and economic factors (about 37%)

Putative cell adhesion membrane protein Vstm5 regulates neuronal morphology and migration in the central nervous system

During brain development, dynamic changes in neuronal membranes perform critical roles in neuronal morphogenesis and migration to create functional neural circuits. Among the proteins that induce membrane dynamics, cell adhesion molecules are important in neuronal membrane plasticity. Here, we report that V-set and transmembrane domain-containing protein 5 (Vstm5), a cell-adhesion-like molecule belonging to the Ig superfamily, was found in mouse brain. Knock-down of Vstm5 in cultured hippocampal neurons markedly reduced the complexity of dendritic structures, as well as the number of dendritic filopodia. Vstm5 also regulates neuronal morphology by promoting dendritic protrusions that later develop into dendritic spines. Using electroporationin utero, we found that Vstm5 overexpression delayed neuronal migration and induced multiple branches in leading processes during corticogenesis. These results indicate that Vstm5 is a new cell-adhesion-like molecule and is critically involved in synaptogenesis and corticogenesis by promoting neuronal membrane dynamics.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNeuronal migration and morphogenesis play critical roles in brain development and function. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that V-set and transmembrane domain-containing protein 5 (Vstm5), a putative cell adhesion membrane protein, modulates both the position and complexity of central neurons by altering their membrane morphology and dynamics. Vstm5 is also one of the target genes responsible for variations in patient responses to treatments for major depressive disorder. Our results provide the first evidence that Vstm5 is a novel factor involved in the modulation of the neuronal membrane and a critical element in normal neural circuit formation during mammalian brain development.</jats:p

Intraoperative blood loss during different stages of scoliosis surgery: A prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are a number of reasons for intraoperative blood loss during scoliosis surgery based on the type of approach, type of disease, osteopenia, and patient blood profile. However, no studies have investigated bleeding patterns according to the stage of the operation. The objective of this prospective study was to identify intraoperative bleeding patterns in different stages of scoliosis surgery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We prospectively analyzed the estimated blood loss (EBL) and operation time over four stages of scoliosis surgery in 44 patients. The patients were divided into three groups: adolescent idiopathic (group 1), spastic neuromuscular (group 2) and paralytic neuromuscular (group 3). The per-level EBL and operation times of the groups were compared on a stage-by-stage basis. The bone marrow density (BMD) of each patient was also obtained, and the relationship between per-level EBL and BMD was compared using regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Per-level operation time was similar across all groups during surgical stage (p > 0.05). Per-level EBL was also similar during the dissection and bone-grafting states (p > 0.05). However, during the screw insertion stage, the per-level EBL was significantly higher in groups 2 and 3 compared to group 1 (p < 0.05). In the correction stage, per-level EBL was highest in group 3 (followed in order by groups 2 and 1) (p < 0.05). Preoperative BMD indicated that group 3 had the lowest bone quality, followed by groups 2 and 1 (in order), but the preoperative blood indices were similar in all groups. The differences in bleeding patterns in the screw insertion and correction stages were attributed to the poor bone quality of groups 2 and 3. Group 3 had the lowest bone quality, which caused loosening of the bone-screw interface during the correction stage and led to more bleeding. Patients with a T-score less than -2.5 showed a risk for high per-level EBL that was nine times higher than those with scores greater than -2.5 (p = 0.003).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We investigated the blood loss patterns during different stages of scoliosis surgery. Patients with poor BMD showed a risk of blood loss nine times higher than those with good BMD.</p

Influence of Carbon Content and Isothermal Heat Treatment Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultra-High Strength Bainitic Steels

The effect of carbon content and isothermal heat treatment conditions on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of ultra-high strength bainitic steels was investigated. A reduction in carbon content from 0.8 wt% to 0.6 wt% in super-bainite steel with typical chemistry effectively improved not only the Charpy impact toughness but also the strength level. This suggests that reducing the carbon content is a very promising way to obtain better mechanical balance between strength and impact toughness. The higher Charpy impact toughness at a lower carbon content of 0.6 wt% is thought to result from a reduction in austenite fraction, and refinement of the austenite grain. The coarse austenite grains have a detrimental effect on impact toughness, by prematurely transforming to deformation-induced martensite during crack propagation. Mechanical properties were also affected by the isothermal treatment temperature. The lower isothermal temperature enhanced the formation of bainitic ferrite with a refined microstructure, which has a beneficial influence on strength, but reduces impact toughness. The lower impact toughness at lower isothermal temperature is attributed to the sluggish redistribution of carbon from the bainitic ferrite into the surrounding austenite. Higher solute carbon in the bainitic ferrite contributes to an increase of strength, but at the same time, encourages a propensity to cleavage fracture.11Ysciescopuskc

PD-1 deficiency protects experimental colitis via alteration of gut microbiota

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) is a coinhibitory molecule and plays a pivotal role in immune regulation. Here, we demonstrate a role for PD-1 in pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Wild-type (WT) mice had severe wasting disease during experimentally induced colitis, while mice deficient for PD-1 (PD-1(-/-)) did not develop colon inflammation. Interestingly, PD-1(-/-) mice cohoused with WT mice became susceptible to colitis, suggesting that resistance of PD-1(-/-) mice to colitis is dependent on their gut microbiota. 16S rRNA gene-pyrosequencing analysis showed that PD-1(-/-) mice had altered composition of gut microbiota with significant reduction in Rikenellaceae family. These altered colon bacteria of PD-1(-/-) mice induced less amount of inflammatory mediators from colon epithelial cells, including interleukin (IL)-6, and inflammatory chemokines. Taken together, our study indicates that PD-1 expression is involved in the resistance to experimental colitis through altered bacterial communities of colon.112Ysciescopuskc

Inhaled Corticosteroids and Placebo Treatment Effects in Adult Patients With Cough : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Copyright © 2019 The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology · The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Proximity-Directed Labeling Reveals a New Rapamycin-Induced Heterodimer of FKBP25 and FRB in Live Cells

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling is a core pathway in cellular metabolism, and control of the mTOR pathway by rapamycin shows potential for the treatment of metabolic diseases. In this study, we employed a new proximity biotin-labeling method using promiscuous biotin ligase (pBirA) to identify unknown elements in the rapamycin-induced interactome on the FK506-rapamycin binding (FRB) domain in living cells. FKBP25 showed the strongest biotin labeling by FRB-pBirA in the presence of rapamycin. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence experiments confirmed that endogenous FKBP25 has a rapamycin-induced physical interaction with the FRB domain. Furthermore, the crystal structure of the ternary complex of FRB-rapamycin-FKBP25 was determined at 1.67-angstrom resolution. In this crystal structure we found that the conformational changes of FRB generate a hole where there is a methionine-rich space, and covalent metalloid coordination was observed at C2085 of FRB located at the bottom of the hole. Our results imply that FKBP25 might have a unique physiological role related to metallomics in mTOR signaling.ope